The first DLC for Unknown World’s RTS/FPS hybrid should be out in late February, and will be completely free.
Natural Selection 2 is indie gaming’s “little engine that could.” With a development team the size of your average basketball team, Unknown Worlds produced a game that looks and plays as well as any triple A blockbuster. There have been 13 maintenance and balance updates since its October 2012 launch, and during that time the team have been putting together the game’s first major content patch: The Gorgeous Update. Named after the game’s “Gorge” class, the update adds new units, new weapons and a new map. Best of all, the update won’t cost you a cent.
The main focus of the update is on the Gorge class itself. The Gorge is the support lifeform for Natural Selection 2’s Alien team. He’s a chubby little wombat-like creature who can heal his teammates and build base defenses. This patch will see him receive two new abilities. The first is the “Gorge Tunnel,” which allows the Gorge to place tunnel entrances and exits around the map. Alien players can then use these tunnels to quickly traverse the map, much akin to the Marine’s phase gates. The downside is that your enemies can use them as well, meaning that fights can break out in the fully animated tunnels.
“Babblers” are the second new ability for the Gorge. Babblers are these little creatures that the Gorge can summon and command – think Half Life 2’s antlions. Gorges can summon up to 9 of the creatures and use them to attack buildings, distract enemies, or even as meat-shields for allies.
While the update does mainly focus on the Gorge’s new abilities, the Marines are getting a new toy to play with. Players will be able to upgrade Exosuits with that good ol’ long-range pinpoint-accurate FPS standard: the railgun. What’s particularly cool about the railgun is that enemies killed by it will disintegrate, utilizing a brand new particle effect.
Lastly, a new map is included in the update. While the modding scene for this game has been pumping out new maps at a steady pace since launch, this will be the first official new map from the Unknown Worlds team. The map is called Descent, and is set in a space station orbiting the planet where all of the other official maps are set.
The update also includes numerous improvements to the SDK and modding tools, as well as adding some brand new particle and lighting effects. This will be the first of many free content updates for Natural Selection 2, and should be released near the end of February.
Source & Image: Destructoid
